Chapter 40: Her Boyfriend Could Slap a Flirt to Death With One Hand (3)

By midnight, Bai Yao finally managed to have her dinner—or supper, really, given the hour. The meal had been prepared by Xue Yan; all she had to do was sit back and enjoy it.

While waiting for Xue Yan to finish in the kitchen, Bai Yao lounged unceremoniously in a chair, scrolling through her phone out of boredom. By chance, she stumbled upon a novel with a high popularity rating, but the more she read, the deeper her frown became.

It was a story tinged with horror: a group of people inexplicably transported to a small town, forced to participate in a deadly survival game. The town appeared peaceful by day, but when night fell, danger lurked everywhere—murderers and man-eating monsters prowled the streets.

While the survivors crept about in terror, desperate just to stay alive, there was one exception: the female protagonist. She was sweet and adorable, and upon waking, she was immediately bound to a system that doted on her. As long as she cooed and acted cute, even the monsters and ghosts would be smitten, eager to spoil her.

Naturally, those survivors who disliked her met terrible ends—especially her former female friend turned enemy, whose remains weren’t even left behind. Yet whenever the heroine pouted and whimpered, even a freshly bloodstained monster would affectionately call her a little princess.

Bai Yao couldn’t stomach it any longer. She exited the app and glanced at the title—“Spoiled to Death by Monster Bosses Just for Crying”—with a mixture of scorn and resignation.

Xue Yan brought out the last dish and immediately noticed the distaste on Bai Yao’s face. He glanced at the four dishes and soup on the table, then sat gingerly beside her, anxiety written all over him. “Yao Yao, do you not like the food I made?”

She looked up. “Of course I do. I just read a novel that put me in a bad mood.”

Xue Yan was curious. “What kind of novel?”

She held up her phone, only to realize the book had vanished from her shelf. She checked her browsing history, but it, too, was empty. Slightly puzzled, she shrugged it off. “It’s just one of those stories I really can’t stand. A group of people gets trapped in a mysterious town filled with murderous monsters, but the heroine cheats her way through—she just acts cute and everyone, even the monsters, becomes infatuated and treats her like a princess.”

She took the bowl of rice Xue Yan handed her, sipped the soup, and added lightly, “Good thing you don’t have some weird habit of calling people your little princess—otherwise I’d get goosebumps.”

Xue Yan cozied up beside her. Seeing she’d finished her soup, he scooped a little more rice into her bowl, then obediently placed the bowl and chopsticks back into her hands. “Yao Yao, I’m not greasy.”

Bai Yao gave him a look. “Sit up and eat.”

Xue Yan pursed his lips and had no choice but to straighten up and pick up his rice bowl. Still, his eyes would dart toward her when he thought she wasn’t looking, and little by little, he inched closer to her.

Bai Yao sighed. “Authors these days really do have vivid imaginations. Where would you ever find a monster town in real life?”

Xue Yan’s eyes flickered, and he echoed, “Yes, there’s no such thing as a monster town in reality.”

“A few days ago, Hua Hua from my class asked me if burying people in the ground would make more people grow in the spring. I suspect she’s just seen too much of this nonsense online.”

He nodded along. “Yes, it’s all just nonsense online.”

Bai Yao dropped a piece of meat into his bowl and continued her chatter, “A Dong’s been unwell lately—stomach problems, hospitalized. There’s only his grandma at home, and a branch broke the window during the storm the other day. Get off work early tomorrow and let’s help her fix the window.”

He nodded. “Alright, we’ll fix the window.”

Bai Yao recounted every little thing that had happened in town today, and Xue Yan responded to every sentence, even if his replies were not particularly meaningful. Still, he was attentive to her every word.

And as she spoke, he slumped back against her, draping himself over her as much as his larger frame allowed, hunching and folding himself just to be closer, never mind how uncomfortable it looked.

Bai Yao clicked her tongue. “Do you have any bones at all?”

He gazed at her with misty eyes, as if half-asleep from sheer laziness. He’d always been this way—if he could lie down, he’d never sit up, and if he could lean on her, he’d never bother lying down alone.

Once, while scrolling short videos, Bai Yao had seen a female blogger complain about never marrying a man with no ambition—somebody who just stayed home was basically a charity case for his wife. Bai Yao hadn’t thought much of it, but Xue Yan remembered. The very next day, he stepped out of his dim room and found a job fixing pipes at the town committee.

Though his official job was fixing pipes, he could repair just about anything. Strangely, though, whenever anyone in town needed help, they’d always come to Bai Yao, not Xue Yan himself.

But that wasn’t so odd. Xue Yan had always been a homebody, barely stepping outside, and the townsfolk found him unapproachable. Bai Yao, on the other hand, had only arrived six months ago, but now everyone knew her.

She tried to persuade him, “You really should get out more instead of just thinking about lazing around at home all day.”

She picked out a piece of boneless fish and brought it to his lips. He opened his mouth and ate it in one bite—if it were up to him, he would never bother picking out bones. He wouldn’t even spit out rib bones; at their first meal together, Bai Yao had watched him crunch them up and swallow them. She’d even commented admiringly, “You really have strong teeth.”

Back then, he’d immediately lowered his head, his unkempt black hair hiding his eyes, but his ears burned red.

Now, eating the fish she fed him, Xue Yan was happier than if he’d tasted honey. Eyes half-closed, his aura was steeped in ennui, but his lazy voice was thick with attachment. “Home smells like you, Yao Yao. I like being at home.”

Bai Yao was baffled. “Are you a dog, being so sensitive to smells?”

Xue Yan pondered this seriously before replying, “Yao Yao, there are no canine genes in my body. But if you like, I can be your dog.”

Bai Yao was left speechless.

They both had work in the morning, so Bai Yao hurried him to finish eating, and together they washed the dishes. When they finally returned to the bedroom, Xue Yan immediately wrapped his arms and legs around her, clinging tight.